The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1887-11-11
THE STORY OF A CORPSE.
ALLEGED TRUE HISTORY OF A FAM
AZ , Gus GRAVE ROBBERY

Told by Man Who Should Know tho
Inside Facts-How A. t. Stewards Bones
| Were Recovered and Deposited I'm the
Place He Had Built for Them CHASTITY
Negotiations.
NEW YORK, Oct. 3l.--Ex-Superinden of
| Police George w. Mailing is preparing
book soon to be published to be called "The
Recolections of New York Chief of POI
lice." An entire chapter of the book will be
devoted to the mystery which has so long
surrounded the body of the late A T. Stew
art. The ex-superintendent processes to give
the only true story of the stealing of the
body, and alleges that the body was subse-
| quenty returned to the representatives of ex-
Judge Hilton. Mr.. Walling says the body
was missed on Wednesday, Nov. z 1878, at
a. m, and that Frank Parker, assistant SEX
ton of st. Marks church, made the discov-
cry. The vault in which the body had been
| placed was in the center OF the church-yard
| The vault was entered through a square hole
in the roof, and through this aperture the
casket containing the body was hoisted by
the thieves On tho morning after the rob
berry Judge Hilton offered $25, 900 reward for
information that would lead to the convic-
ton If the thieves.
The first clue came through Gen. Patrick
II. Jones, postmaster of New York. who
notified Supt. Walling that an old soldier
who had served under him professed to know
something about Stewards body and, with
encouragement, would give information lead
ing to its recovery. Mr. hilton declared he
would never pay one cent for the body unless
accompanied by the thieves in irons Gen.
Jones was persistent, and wanted to work up
h.. al g.. II A.
body, but Judge Hilton remained obdurats
and the case was dropped.
The robbers next opened negotiations di-
rectly with Mrs Stewart who was anxious
to recover the body. Mr. Waling then goes
on to state that no trace of the robbers was
found until january, 1882, when Mr..
Jones came to headquarters with
the plate, silver knobs and handles
belonging to the casket. and some letters
which he had received purporting to have
been written in Canada and signed "Henry
q. Romaine." In one letter Romano offered
to return the body for $3.50 900, stating that
the remains were buried in the Dominion
Mr.. Walling then goes into the details of the
negotiations between the thieves and Mr..
Stewards friends, carried on through "per-
sonals' in The New York Herald. After
several bitches the thieves finally agreed to
take $4,000. The conditions of the delivery
were stringent, and Mr. Walling gives them
as follows:
1.-THE messenger with the money was to
leave New York at 20 p m, alone, in one
horse wagon, and drive into Westchester
county along a lonely road, which was indi-
Gated on map sent 10y the thieves Some
time before morning, if the man was acting
in good faith and was not accompanied or
followed by detectives, he would be met
and given further information A young
relative OF Mrs. Stewart undertook the haz-
ardous errand Two or three times during
the night he was certain that he was closely
watched, but it was o'clock when masked
horseman rode up, gave the signal agreed on
and turned the buggy up a lonely lane. The
strange visitor here left him, directing him
to drive on. AT the end of another mile he
became aware that another wagon was block
ing the way. He halted, and a masked man
promptly appeared and brought forward a
bag to his buggy. The messenger was then
convinced by certain proofs that the body
was the missing one, and he at once turned
over the money. The robbers retired a few
feet and carefully counted it, Then they
moved off to their vehicle, and the messen-
ger returned the Way he had come
"The next night freight car went out to
Garden City containing nothing except a
trunk, and on it sat man who had spent tbe
previous night in the loneliest part of West |
Chester county. An empty coffin had been
already placed in the cathedral there and at
the dead of night two men transferred the !
bones from the trunk. They then placed the |
coffin in an inaccessible vault beneath the |
dome. II any one should ever again touch |
unbidden the vault which holds the bones of |
the late merchant millionaire the touch would |
release a hidden spring, which would ring the |
chimes in the tower and send an instant |
alarm through the town."